Things to Do in Japan: November 2026
Things to do in Japan this November: Zen temple sessions, calligraphy and tea workshops, ambient music and DJ nights. Events in Japan on Peatix.
This month, we picked 29 events across Japan. But before we get to them, let me share what comes to mind when I think of November in Japan. I smell November long before I see it.
The air is crisp. The smell of roasted chestnuts and sweet potatoes lures you in the way it does in cartoons, where the characters float nose-first along the scent trail. A truck sings the "yaki-imo" (roasted sweet potato) song down a side street. Follow the song to a snack Japan has loved since the 1600s.
I am getting distracted. This post is about the events and experiences you can book in November, so back to the ones we picked: Zen temple sessions, calligraphy and tea workshops, ambient and live music, and DJ nights, from Tokyo to Fukuoka. Wear layers, because temperatures drop fast at night. (Yes, this is hot pot weather.)
Last checked November 3, 2026. Ticket availability and prices change, so check each event page before you book.
🗼 Tokyo · ⛩️ Kyoto · 🏯 Osaka · 🗾 Beyond
🗼 TOKYO
Featured: Japan, In Person
Workshops and experiences in Japan, run by shop owners and craftspeople who do this every day. Book in minutes on Peatix.
Ginza Natsuno Chopstick Craft Workshop
Omotesando, Tokyo | From ¥2,640
Shape your own pair of chopsticks in a workshop next to one of Japan's largest chopstick specialists, which offers more than 3,000 varieties. The workshop is conducted in English. You choose your wood at the shop and pay for it there.
Story Petals: Re:Play, Sound, Craft & Sip
SON Records & Ambient Cafe, Tokyo | ¥5,800
Create your own record cover with craft materials while you listen to the sounds of the cafe, drink in hand. Use a real 7-inch vintage record to rebuild an existing cover or tell a new story on a blank one. Sessions run in a mix of English and Japanese.
The Little Mermaid: Tennozu Water Opera 2026
T-LOTUS M, Tennozu Isle | From ¥3,000
Watch five opera singers perform The Little Mermaid on the Tennozu canal, which serves as the stage set. Seat types run from U-25 seats to 100 premium seats with a pre-theater party, and children in elementary school or younger cannot buy barge seats.
WildsideTokyo Ambient Days 2026
WildSideTokyo, Shinjuku | From ¥3,500
Settle into two nights of ambient music in the underground space of WildSideTokyo, lit by candles and scented with Japanese fragrance. Live sets include HATAKEN, Hello1103, Yumi Iwaki and doors in doors. A drink ticket is required at entry.
KODO Experience #49
Nippon Kodo, Tokyo | ¥11,000
Take part in the Genji-kō incense ceremony, a game of telling five rare fragrant woods apart, based on The Tale of Genji. First-timers are welcome, and English translation is available. The session takes about 90 minutes and is limited to 10 people.
PXP Perspectives × Public Visuals Tokyo 2026
TUNNEL TOKYO | ¥5,000
Watch live audiovisual performances by artists from Taiwan, Japan and abroad on the large LED screen at TUNNEL TOKYO. Each artist takes a different approach: music, video, real-time visuals or programming. Tickets sell on Peatix until 6:00 PM on the day.
ETERNAL Art Space Audiovisual Installation
MoN Takanawa: The Museum of Narratives, 4F | ¥1,000
See three audiovisual works curated by ETERNAL Art Space at MUTEK.JP 2026, including WAVE WEAVE by Carsten Nicolai with the Kyoto Nishijin weaving shop HOSOO. The works link Japanese traditional culture with digital expression. Choose a 40-minute time slot.
Dutch Jazz Night: Benjamin Herman Trio, The Tokyo Sessions
OPRCT, Uehara, Shibuya | ¥3,800
Dutch alto saxophonist Benjamin Herman plays a special one-night show at OPRCT in Uehara with the guests who joined his album The Tokyo Sessions. Tomoaki Baba on tenor sax and Akihito Obama and Ko Ishikawa on the Japanese instruments shakuhachi and sho join his trio. The event page is in Japanese.
BLOODFLOWERS: Japan Goth & Post Punk Festival 2026
Shinjuku LOFT | From ¥8,900
Hear Japanese goth and post punk acts alongside bands from the UK, USA, Australia and Korea at the 50th anniversary festival of Shinjuku LOFT. DJs play through the night, and the first 300 buyers receive a BLOODFLOWERS pin badge. See the event page for the full lineup.
Kirifu LIVE: EISA-IGNITION
TAIKO-LAB Aoyama | ¥5,000
Watch the eisa unit Kirifu (花原京正, 坂本富美佳 and 松木里夏) perform live. Capacity is 100, and the organizer assigns all seats by lottery. The event page is in Japanese.
SLAPP Back Ball: Queens for a Cause x Greenpeace
TK NIGHTCLUB TOKYO, Shibuya | From ¥3,500
Watch drag performances at the third anniversary event of Queens for a Cause, held with Greenpeace. The organizer says the group stands against hate, injustice, corporate greed and the destruction of the environment. Guests join the performers in the SLAPP BACK theme.
Tokyo Art Tank Vol. 18: Opening Reception
Gallery Conceal Shibuya | Free
Be the first to see Tokyo Art Tank Vol. 18, The Winter Exhibition, and meet the artists at the opening reception. Expect contemporary art, creative connections and music by DJ HIKUN, with original works for sale directly from the artists. The exhibition runs through Dec 6.
🗼 Tokyo · ⛩️ Kyoto · 🏯 Osaka · 🗾 Beyond
⛩️ KYOTO
Featured: Japan, In Person
Workshops and experiences in Japan, run by shop owners and craftspeople who do this every day. Book in minutes on Peatix.
An Intimate Kyoto Maiko Lunch in Gion: Dance, Conversation & Matcha
Umenoya, Gion, Kyoto | ¥16,800
Spend an afternoon with a Kyoto maiko over a seasonal lunch, with conversation, traditional dances, matcha and photographs at Umenoya, a family-run house in Gion with over a century of history. The session is limited to 8 guests and conducted mainly in English.
The 4th Kyoto International Butoh Festival
SPACE LFAN, Kyoto | From ¥4,000
See more than 60 groups of dancers from 47 regions across Japan and the world perform butoh, with musicians and lighting artists. Kan Katsura guides the festival. The organizer notes 2028 marks 100 years since the birth of Tatsumi Hijikata, the founder of butoh.
Japanese Calligraphy Immersion in English
Myoshin-ji Shunko-in, Kyoto | ¥22,000
Learn shodo, Japanese calligraphy, as a meditative practice at a Zen temple, guided in English. Write your own name or a word of personal meaning and take the finished piece home. The class is for beginners and limited to 8 guests.
Mindful Zen Garden Experience in Kyoto
Myoman-ji Temple, Kyoto | ¥10,000
Explore a traditional Zen garden with a Buddhist monk and create your own sand patterns in a space with music by Yamaha Music Entertainment Holdings. The program includes matcha and traditional Japanese sweets. The session runs one day only, in small groups.
TEDxKyoto 2026: Kaleidoscopic
Morita Memorial Hall, Kyoto University of Foreign Studies | From ¥7,000
Attend TEDxKyoto 2026 on the theme Kaleidoscopic (百花繚乱), with talks in Japanese and English and paid simultaneous interpretation planned. The ticket includes all sessions, the after-party, snacks and drinks, and lunch is not provided.
🗼 Tokyo · ⛩️ Kyoto · 🏯 Osaka · 🗾 Beyond
🏯 OSAKA
Osaka Local International Party for Solo Guests
Cafe Dining Safari, Nishi-Shinsaibashi | ¥2,000
Meet locals and travelers at a standing-style party with games such as Jenga and UNO, and practice English, Japanese, French and more. The organizer designed the party for solo guests, and most people come alone. Drinks are extra.
SPECTACULAR 7th Anniversary feat. Hernan Cattaneo
club JOULE, Osaka | From ¥3,500
Dance to Hernan Cattaneo and DJ Ogawa at the seventh anniversary of SPECTACULAR. The main room also features Nao Nomura and senda, with VJ Kozee, and Room 2 has more DJs. See the event page for the full lineup.
Pottery Workshop Vol. 8
TO TAMAGAWA, Osaka | ¥3,500
Flatten clay into slabs, then cut and join them into two small plates about 9.3 cm across, using the tatara method. Choose a glaze color from the samples at the end. Capacity is 8, and parents and children are welcome together.
Marcellus Pittman Japan Tour
club JOULE, Osaka | From ¥2,000
Dance to Detroit DJ Marcellus Pittman of Unirhythm, who mixes house, disco, techno and electro. The 2F floor also features Questa, Kaito and Musashi, and the 4F floor is organized by Osaka Techno Mafia.
🗼 Tokyo · ⛩️ Kyoto · 🏯 Osaka · 🗾 Beyond
🗾 BEYOND TOKYO, KYOTO & OSAKA
Create Your Own Notebook and Collage in Fukuoka
003 three space, Fukuoka | ¥3,500
Make your own A5 notebook by choosing an acrylic cover and 20 refill pages, then collage with materials from the ZINE booths. Visit the booths to meet the artists. Beginners and solo guests are welcome, and the organizer provides all materials.
Kamakura Reading Rave: An Ambient Silent Disco on a Noh Stage
Kamakura Mirai Lab, Kamakura | ¥2,000
Read a book on a Noh stage overlooking a Japanese garden, with ambient music through wireless headphones the organizer lends you. Bring at least one book you see as a world-expanding read, and share books in the lounge reading area. Capacity is 30, with advance booking.
Make Your Own Matcha in a 110-Year-Old Japanese House
Sunagawara, Ichikawa, Chiba | ¥5,000
Pick your own tea bowl and make matcha side by side with Japanese hosts, in English, in a house from the Taisho era. Enjoy the matcha with Japanese sweets, play a matcha tasting game and take your own bamboo whisk home. No experience is needed.
Tea Ceremony to Taste Nara: Shimotsuki
茶論 Nara Machi store, Nara | ¥3,300
Hear a short lecture on tea culture over a seasonal sweet and thin matcha, then make your own matcha in the Nakagawa family's former home space, overlooking a 300-year-old courtyard. Visitors from abroad are welcome with simple English in the lecture, and children in elementary school or younger cannot join.
The 2nd Sonomama Matsuri at Shima Onsen
Kusushiki, Shima Onsen, Gunma | Free to watch, ¥3,300 to take part
Smear mud on each other in a special robe, lie on a large sheet of washi paper to paint with your whole body, then burn the paper and soak in the hot spring. The mud ticket includes the robe, a light snack and a hot spring bath. Spectators are welcome too.
Calm and Peace in Japanese Consciousness: An Interdisciplinary Dialogue
general store, Yukinoshita, Kamakura | ¥5,500
Join a dialogue during Mindful City Kamakura Week on the theme Wa (harmony), asking what lies behind the calm often linked with Japanese culture. The program also looks at samu, mindful everyday work. No alcohol is provided, and the venue cannot take children.
WORMHOLE 2026 Indoor Rave
dada, Tsu, Mie | From ¥3,500
Dance at an indoor rave at dada in Tsu, Mie, with DJs including YAMA, CMT, DJ Kuri, Apollo Hattori and deadram. An after-hours session runs from 6:00 AM to 3:00 PM on Sunday.
Tokyo to Touge: AE86 Passenger Drift Ride Day at Gunsai
Gunma Cycle Sports Center, Gunma | From ¥20,000
Ride as a passenger beside professional drivers in rear-wheel-drive drift cars on a closed mountain course, or watch from the trackside. The organizer picks you up at Jomo-Kogen Station, about 1 hour from Tokyo by the Joetsu Shinkansen. Guests never drive, and the day is limited to 20 guests in English and Japanese.
🗼 Tokyo · ⛩️ Kyoto · 🏯 Osaka · 🗾 Beyond
Common questions about Japan events in November
What events are happening in Japan in November 2026?
We picked 29 events, including Zen temple sessions, calligraphy and tea workshops, ambient and live music, and DJ nights. They run in Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Fukuoka, Nara and other cities.
Do I need to speak Japanese to join these events?
No. We chose events visitors can enjoy without speaking Japanese. Some run in English, and others are music, dance or hands-on sessions with little talking.
How do I book a ticket?
Select the link on a card, choose a ticket on the Peatix event page and pay online. A few events take payment at the venue, and the price line on the card says so.
Are there free events in November?
Yes. Tokyo Art Tank's opening reception has free admission, and the Sonomama Matsuri in Gunma has a free spectator-only ticket. Check the price line on each card for the rest.
What food is in season in Japan in November?
Roasted sweet potatoes (yaki-imo), chestnuts, persimmons, oysters and oden fill the streets and menus. Snow crab season opens on November 6 along the Sea of Japan coast.
What is celebrated in Japan in November?
Tori no Ichi fairs run at Otori shrines across Japan on rooster days in the old zodiac calendar, which fall on November 7 and 19 this year, when locals buy lucky rakes called kumade to welcome good business and luck. Shichi-Go-San honors children aged 3, 5 and 7 around November 15, and Culture Day (November 3) and Labor Thanksgiving Day (November 23) are public holidays.